


Twenty Seconds

by adlerty



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Analysis, Angst, Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three, F/M, Mind Palace, Sentiment, Spoilers, The Sign of Three Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-08 00:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1126334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adlerty/pseuds/adlerty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And maybe which involves the atmosphere it is what he calls <em>sentiment</em>."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty Seconds

**Author's Note:**

> **This fic contains SPOILERS of 'The Sign of Three'.** _Let's play a game. Let's play murder._ Well, no. This is not murder, this is  _sentiment_.
> 
> So, we all are so excited with the little cameo of Lara Pulver's Irene Adler in Sherlock again, so here is an analysis of the entire scene in which our dominatrix appears. I'm sorry if there are mistakes, I wrote this this morning at school while my History teacher was explaining the Carlist Wars (Spanish things, lol), so whilst I have read it a few times and corrected it, I don't know if I've missed something. I also wanted to point out that none of the characters and dialogues here belong to me. I hope you enjoy this, you awesome people. Thank you so much for reading.

And he drops the glass of champagne and it can be for the fact that he has realised about something important or the need of cocaine or just both, but he is suddenly immersed in his Mind Palace because he has a theory to prove. Again the five women, a recriminatory finger pointing at one of them, something that does not match at all in this story.

 

Everything is now making sense to him and all of a sudden, after starting to speak to the client, remembering different past scenes and trying to deduce how she did know the thing, he finds himself turning on his heels with that grace he only has and looking straight forward.

 

“And _The Woman_. She knew.”

 

His Mind Palace is a strange place. Nobody listen to him but the people who is in his head do. He knows he is talking to five women that are not really there about how that client knew John’s second name, everything occurring in a place which is not the wedding room and, straightaway and not unconsciously at all, he sets himself in Baker Street a few years ago. And he almost sees her staring at him in that lustfully way of hers, holding her camera phone in her hand and smirking. He even remembers why she is grinning. _You’re rather good_ , he says himself. _You’re not so bad_ , she answers instantly. He remembers her keeping that smirk and him utterly perplexed of her response, though he did not show it at that moment, after all that was an expected comment coming from her. _Hamish_ , John ironically suggests in his mind, but all he is doing is remembering. And he remembers himself and her turning to him, her smile fading slightly, his own face not showing any expression, as always. And the doctor coughs before continuing. _John Hamish Watson, just if you were looking for baby names_. Yes, that was the point. He wants to think that is the reason why she appears in his mind, to justify that she was one of the few people who knew John’s second name, but then he continues walking and knows that it is too late.

 

“God knows where she is.”

 

And he, the great Sherlock Holmes, is God. And he knows exactly where she is. He does not know where she is physically, but he knows that she is in his head, that she has always been there, and that is enough for him.

 

He is surprised about how it does not surprise him her presence in his Mind Palace. But of course he keeps his face neutral, until he reaches her. She is in his mind and it is like she is really there, in front of him, with her big, beautiful eyes flickering, staring at his sharp face with their turquoise green colour. Her face is neutral as well. He notices how his body tenses for a moment, and then he gasps and exhales deeply. And now his expression is not hieratical anymore. His lips are tight, and they are meant to turn into a smile. It turns into some sort of affection, even into sadness. Maybe he is aware of the fact that she is not actually there, maybe he is hurt, and maybe which involves the atmosphere it is what he calls _sentiment_.

 

He stares at her back and, suddenly, she lifts her right arm, blood red lips parted slightly, and with one perfectly-manicured finger she caresses his face, following the line of his left cheekbone. He knows how she liked his cheekbones and he also knows that she did not lie to him when she implied that she would like to cut herself slapping his face. He sees how her eyes, which are now almost completely dark, open even more, as does her mouth. He can even feel her warm breath against him. And for a moment, he allows her to reach his chin with her finger until he feels his pride growing from his feet to his head. Perhaps it is the fact that he thinks of her in a way that it is so real, that this bloody memory can even beat him and leave him there senseless and vulnerable, impeding him to be the man he is supposed to be.

 

“Out of my head,” he complains, his brow furrowed. “I’m busy!”

 

He notices how angrily he has pronounced those two last words while her face remains the same, almost fascinated with the beauty of his face and the pleasure of touching it.

 

He inhales sharply as he turns around again to continue his soliloquy, because what he is doing is to demonstrate his theory about how that client knew about the name, and just the image of her in his Mind Palace distracts him. He pretends that everything is okay and he acts like that those last twenty seconds since he names her – sure it is the first time he does it in loud voice after he saved her – until he decides to stop thinking of her, to finish with that fantasy, have never existed. Besides, he knows her slim, pale and naked figure has disappeared behind him, because he is now focussed in solving _The Mayfly Man_ case or in, which is basically the same, showing off and being again himself. And maybe it has just disappeared for a second or two; maybe for a few hours or even days, it is not sure. But what it is certain is that the smart and sexy Irene Adler is in Sherlock Holmes’ mind, which, just for a moment, has been ruled by the same man’s heart.

**Author's Note:**

> For those who are interested, I will update a new chapter of [_From The Enlightenment To The Romanticism_](1094397/chapters/2202828) this weekend. Promise. I'm so sorry for the delay, sweeties.


End file.
